On the Path to Economic Self Sufficiency!
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by
igsss
Devi Ahilya Spice Unit is unleashing the potential of women as successful entrepreneurs. 15 women from a small village Kundiya in the Barwaha block of Khargone District are running a small enterprise, ‘Devi Ahilya Spice Unit”.
Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood in Kundiya village. For the past decade, due to the adverse agro-climatic condition in the area, women and men from the villages have started migrating in search of livelihood to the nearby cities. They are forced to work as labourers in the cities without any social and occupational security making them vulnerable to exploitation.
IGSSS is working in Kundliya since 2016 with the support from the CSR arm of HDFC Bank. The focus was on building the capacities of women and men and providing them with the hardware for improving the economic status of poor households. IGSSS worked with women to establish small scale, enterprise models. 15 women got together and establish the processing unit for the local Agri produce. They initially processed chillies, and gradually diversified their services by processing turmeric and coriander too.
Market linkage is critical for the upscaling and sustainability of the unit. IGSSS team supported the group by linking them with local aggregators in the nearby markets. Not only with the forward linkage support, but meetings have also been conducted with the line departments’ officials and the executive from Madhya Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission (MPSRLM) to avail the credit line and training support. Recently an Executive from MPSRLM has visited the unit and assured to provide a Credit Limit of INR 80,000/- to upscale the production of the unit.
Women are now marketing their processed products in other districts. These women follow a strict quality control mechanism and hence their products are making their place in the market. Currently, they are reaping the profit of 43 Rs per KG.
Devi Ahilya Spice Unit has become an inspiration for many women in the village